The Sages: Darunia
by nicoadsilver
Summary: After witnessing the destruction of Hyrule, Darunia feels a heavy burden on his shoulder but he is determined to protect his people. In a moment of peace, hell breaks loose and Darunia fails to keep the one and only promise to himself. Now the only thing he can do it to save his people - and return home to his son.


Pushing his broad arms backwards, Darunia let go of a small sigh of relief as he felt his body loosen up after being curled up while sleeping. As he opened his eyes, reality once again hit him. Only those naïve, fresh moments after one has awakened after a long night of sleep could save him from what had become of Hyrule.

The room was lit up by the dim light of a small fire in the corner, making the shadows dance along the walls. Darunia walked slowly towards the door not completely ready to face yet another day. He briefly stopped to look over at his son's bed just to check that he was still where he fell asleep last night. For a moment, he could not help but smile at the small Goron fast asleep as if the world was still at peace. He turned around and proceeded towards the door.

Since Ganondorf rebelled and took the throne, Darunia had watched how Hyrule had slowly crumbled beneath him. The thought of helping those fleeing the chaos had occurred to him many times, but he had to think about his people. He had already once faced Ganondorf and boldly denied him the Goron's Ruby. At the time, it seemed harmless. While he did close the entrance to Dodongo's Cavern and severed the Gorons' food supply, help had come to them.

Darunia stopped as soon as he exited his room, gazing upon his home made of stone. The day was still young and a sound of mild snoring resonated throughout Goron City.

Link had come at the right moment and saved his people from starvation, giving him hope that his dark man from the west would not succeed in what he was planning to do; but Darunia knew he had been ignorant. Even though Link was surely the hero meant to save Hyrule, he had vanished after Ganondorf came to power. Darunia had told himself many times that Link would come back – he was not a coward. He had seen his courage with his own eyes. Annoyed he shook his head as he made it towards the exit leading out to Death Mountain.

A mild breeze hit him as he stepped outside. It was a cold morning, but it was nothing against Darunia's hardened skin. Where most other Gorons' used their ability to move forward swiftly by curling up, Darunia preferred to walk. He always started the day with a walk to the top of the mountain, a habit not even Ganondorf should keep him from. As the road broadened a bit, he turned right and started to walk uphill. It was definitely not an easy morning walk, but it was a good exercise for the body and mind in his opinion. He stepped up on a small ledge, walked up and jumped towards the smaller ledge in front of him. It was clear that it was something he had done many times before as he landed on both feet only to swing himself up to the next level. Here it would definitely be easier to simply roll to the end of the broad, long road in front of him, but this path was especially interesting. Scorched by the lava stones from the volcano, the earth was painted with all sorts of round shapes in red, yellow and black colours. As one walked across those markings, one could feel the bumps the stones had made into the earth branding it forever with the eruptions of the volcano. Since the death of Dodongo, the volcano had been sleeping which made it safe for Darunia to slowly stroll along the path. When he made it to the end, he started climbing up by swinging himself easily from rock to rock with small grunts. Even though he was a strong man, he also had to carry a lot of weight in the end but a bit of weight should not keep him from watching the sunrise over the fields of Hyrule.

Finally, at the top of Death Mountain, Darunia walked towards the edge of the mountain itself. The back of Biggoron could be seen going up and down since the big Goron was still fast asleep. Darunia leaned towards the robust stonewall keeping him away from the abyss, crossing his arms on top of it. Slowly the sun rose over the mountains to the west, bathing Hyrule in a light that almost seemed to chase away the evil that had taken over. This was the only moment where Darunia felt like he could travel back in time and remain carefree for just a second.

For a moment, he did not even realise that the earth beneath him was rumbling silently. Only when the sound intensified, Darunia quickly stepped away from the edge to turn around towards the top of Death Mountain. The sound grew louder and louder and it seemed like the volcano would break open any second. Biggoron was slowly waking up behind him with grunts and complains. Darunia felt like he could not move but he had to get himself together and get down to Goron City to get everyone to safety. Running towards the ledge ready to jump down and roll the rest of the way, but before he made it that far a terrifying roar made Darunia turn around and look towards the sky.

It felt like his heart stopped; like every single muscle in his body stopped moving. The world stopped, just for second before everything became red. The sky circling around the peak of Death Mountain grew immensely in size and turned dangerously red as smoke came from the opening of the volcano. The heat hit him with intense power, but the shock had still not worn completely off.

"No… It cannot be…" he whispered to himself, trying to make sense of the fire spewing from the volcano. Even if had never seen it with his own eyes, the legends passed down from his ancestors were so clear so he could not deny it.

"Volvagia," he said quietly to remind himself of what he was witnessing, to make sure that he was not only dreaming. As the dragon disappeared into the volcano, lava and fire came running down its sides. The dragon had been resurrected and only one could have such powers and such hatred to awaken this monster from the past.

His feared that his heart would rip open his chest as he rolled down the mountain with such speed that he could hardly control himself. He had to save his people. He had not helped the Hylians escape to Kakariko Village when Ganondorf's army invaded Hyrule and now he feared that he would not make it to save his own from the horrors waiting inside the mountain.

The screams grew as he closed in on Goron City. As soon as he made it to the entrance, he straightened himself up and ran inside only to witness the sudden silence of Goron City. He was too late. Without hesitation, he rushed towards his own room only to be greeted with the same roaring silence as before. He was not here. His son was gone.

The world seemed to stop once again as Darunia sunk down on his knees. It felt like his hard had been ripped out. Not only had he failed his people, his brothers, he had failed his own flesh and blood. His sole purpose as ruler was to protect and he had not been able to do so – he had been too afraid. If he only had acted quicker instead of letting the fear paralyse him like that, his son would still be alive…

"D-Daddy…?" The quiet, but so familiar voice broke through his shield of grief, regret, and anger. He looked up and could simply not believe what he saw. How could it be?

With what seemed the last strength left in his body, he pulled himself up from the floor and ran over to the small Goron curled up in the darkest corner of the room. He dragged him into his arm and held him as hard as he could. Even after the world had collapsed around him, Darunia felt alive holding his beloved son in his arms.

"Daddy, you're holding me way-way too tight." The small Goron pressed his hands against his father's chest and tried to break free of the tight hug, but his strength could simply not measure with his father's strength.

Finally, Darunia let go of his son though still holding a tight grip of his shoulders. "But… How? How did you survive?" He could simply not comprehend how all the other Gorons had been taken and his small son could have survived. It seemed impossible.

A sniff made Darunia look more closely at his son's face. Small puddles of water were lying in the corner of his eyes, slowly making their ways down his chubby cheeks. A small frown made its way across Darunia's forehead. He had never seen his son cry.

"T-they told me t-to tell you…" Another sniff broke out, but he tried to keep it together for his father's sake, "… that t-the Gorons were taken to the mountain… to be fed to Volvagia…" Just by mentioning the name, the small Goron started to shake a bit. Darunia had told him all the stories that he was told when he was a child. No one would have thought that the ancient dragon would come to life again. It was a simple tale used to scare Goron children so they would behave, but it had suddenly become surprisingly real.

Darunia tightened his grip around his son's shoulders. So they had spared his son only to deliver a message to him? It could only be one person. "Who did this?" His voice seemed awfully quiet as he tried to hide the fact that even he was scared.

"Big… big skeletons… Some tried to fight them… rolled into them, but they just came back to life…" Darunia's anger rose as he saw how his son trembled by the memory of those monsters, but he knew that only one could control such viscous monsters. After some brief thinking, Darunia once again hugging his son, this time though lighter and shorter than before. Then he stood up resting his huge hands on the small shoulders that should carry on with his legacy.

"I have to save our brothers. You stay here. If anyone comes, make sure to stay away. Do not, and I mean it, do not let anyone near you. Alright?" The silent nod seemed as a sufficient answer to Darunia. With a faint smile, he patted his head. "If I do not return, you must remain strong. Remember, I named you after a strong hero who saved our people once. I too have to follow his example. I love you, Link." With that, he turned around and walked towards the door. He could not let himself be overthrown by emotions now; he still had a duty as the ruler of the Gorons to save his people. If they were still alive, he could redeem himself. Even without the legendary hammer, he knew he had to do it.

"I-I love you too, daddy! I believe you can do it! Please come back!" The desperate tone of the cries from behind him just made him feel stronger as he walked out. He took a deep breath and walked over to the edge of the top floor. With a small grunt, he jumped of the ledge and landed at the bottom floor with a groan. He did not know if he could save them all, but he at least had to try. He walked into his office and grabbed the statue standing by the wall. With a powerful pull, he revealed a secret door behind him. A strange heat came from the opening, but there was no way back yet. With a heavy sigh, he entered the secret passage and pulled the statue back to its rightful place so no one would follow him into this hell.


End file.
